Paper-fastener.



T. S. MERRILL.

PAPER FASTENER.

APPLICATION FlLED APR-3,1915.

' 1,236,386. PatentedAug.7,1917.

THOMAS SHERLOCK MERRILL, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PAIPER-FASTENBB.

Application filed April 3, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SHERLOCK MERRILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at 25 Woodland Av., Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in paper fasteners, package ties, or the like, and has for its main object to provide one in which the several papers, of a package, are securely retained in stacked relation, but, at the same time, access may be readily had, to any particular paper of the package, without disturbing or removing the fastener therefrom.

The invention contemplates a device of this character, of simple and inexpensive construction, and one which may be easily and rapidly applied to any desired corner of a package of papers, or readily removed therefrom, but, when properly secured in position, the possibility of accidental displacement is practically eliminated.

With this and other objects in view, the invention resides in the certain new and novel construction to be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of one form of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of another form of the invention,

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view showing one method of securing the second form of the invention,

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of another method of securing the second form of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, in which similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts of the several views, the invention, in its preferred form (Fig. 1), comprises a body 10, made of any suitable material, such as,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917..

Serial No. 18,933.

heavy paper, sheet fiber, celluloid, or the like, consisting of a front section 11- having its opposite ends bent, on an angle of approximately 15, to provide tabs l2, and a rear section -l3 connecting the tabs 12 and secured thereto.

This construction provides an elongated,

loop-shaped, body to be readily slipped over the corner of a package of papers, and, by reason of the opposite ends, to adapt itself snugly to the contacting portions of the said package of papers.

To secure the body 10 in proper po sition, and to retain the papers in an even pile or stack, a cord lL- is secured to one of the sections, preferably the front section 11, by means of an eyelet 15, and, after being looped around the engaged portion of the pile of papers in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described, the free end of the same is to be engaged under a friction disk 16, secured by an eyelet 17 to the other of said sections, the rear section 13, of the body 10. The cord 14. is, preferably, provided "with a metal point 18 whereby to pierce the pile of papers should it be desirable'that the latter be secured other than by the mere looping of the cord 11- around the package thus formed.

As an additional securing means, and to prevent a slipping of the cord 11 i when in looped engagement with the package of papers, the opposite ends of the body -10 may be provided with slots -19 to be engaged by the cord, when the latter is in such looped position.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 5, there is shown the simplest method of applying the fastener to a package of papers, the same consisting in slipping the body -10 over the corner of the package, bending the projecting corner of the package over one section of the latter, and then training the cord -1i over the engaged corner of said package and under the friction disk 16.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 7, the body 10 is substantially identical with the form shown in Figs. 4c and 5, the eyelet 15 being dispensed with, and the cord being secured to the eyelet 17 on the rear section 13. The method of applying the fastener consists in training the cord 1 1 through one of the slots 19, across the front section of the body, through the other of said slots 19, and thence into engagement with said friction disk 16.

In Fig. 1, a third method of securing the fastener to a package of papers, is shown, the same consisting in passing the cord 14.'through an opening formed in the package of papers by piercing the latter with the metal point 18-, the latter being passed through the eyelet 15 in the front section 11 and alining eyelet 15 in the rear section 13 and thence into engagement with the friction disk 16 for the purpose, after the body -l0 has been positioned on the corner, as hereinbefore described. The cord is then, of course, pulled through the opening, thus formed, and secured to the friction disk.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention provides for a simple and efficient fastener, and one which is par ticularly adapted for use in securing papers in flat packages suitable for filing systems wherein it is desirable that access be had to any particular paper of the package without disturbing the latter as a unit.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim, is

1. A fastener comprising a band adapted to engage a corner of a package of articles, and a flexible retaining means secured at one side of said body, trained over the engaged corner of said package, and secured to the opposite side of said package.

2. A fastener comprising a band adapted to partially inclose a corner of a package of articles, and a flexible retaining means secured at one side of said band, trained over the engaged corner of said package and secured to the opposite side of said band.

3. A fastener comprising a closed looplike body adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles and having the free end of the en gaged corner of said package bent into engagement with one side thereof, and a flexible retaining means secured at one side of said body, trained over the folded portion of the engaged corner of said package, and secured to the opposite side of said body.

4. A fastener comprising a closed looplike body adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, and having the free end of the engaged corner of the package bent into engagement with one side thereof, the opposite ends of said body being angularly disposed to snugly engage the contacting edges of the engaged corner of said package, and a flexible retaining means secured at one side of said body, trained over the folded portion of said package, and secured to the opposite si le of said body.

5. A fastener comprising a closed looplike body portion formed of a front section and a back section secured to the front section and adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, the free portion of the engaged corner of said package being bent into engagement with one side of said body, and a cord secured at one side of said body trained over the bent portion of the corner of said package, and secured to the opposite sideof said body.

6. A fastener comprising a body formed of a front section and a rear section secured to the front section and adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, the free portion of said corner being bent over one of the sections of said body, a cord secured to one of said sections and adapted to be trained over the bent free portion of the corner of the package engaged by the body, and a device carried by the other of said sections for securing the free end of said cord.

7. A fastener comprising a body formed of a front section and a rear section secured tothe front section, and adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, the free portion of said corner being bent over one of the sections of said body, a cord secured to one of said sections and adapted to be trained over the bent free end of the corner of the package engaged by the body, and a friction disk carried by the other of said sections for securing the free end of said cord.

8. A fastener comprising a looplike body adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, a friction disk secured at one side of said body, a cord secured at the other side of said body and adapted to be passed through said package and engaged in said friction disk, and a metal point carried on the free end of said cord.

9. A fastener comprising a body adapted to inclose an intermediate portion of a corner of a package of articles, friction disk, an eyelet for securing said friction disk at one side of said body, a cord, a second eyelet for securing said cord to the other side of said body and arranged adjacent to said first mentioned eyelet, and ametal point carried by said cord, said. metal point being adapted for puncturing the package when passed through said eyelets, whereby the cord is drawn through the opening thus formed and secured to said friction disk.

In testimony whereofI aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS SHERLOCK MERRILL.

Witnesses:

DAVID W. REINOHL, M. L. OUELLETTE,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

